A resource and blog for citizens from all over the country who are interested in martial arts, fitness, self-defense, or just being active.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Practicing again

Finally started working out again, and with working out, I've been brushing off my teaching skills, along with remembering how to actually do the basics in Kali. I'm so rusty, I've forgotten a lot of the basic skill building drills and I'm having to refer to the DVD material and written material in order to remember a lot of what I already know.

And thus, we see, that teaching actually reinforces what we already have learned. Currently, my training partner is my Dad, and occasionally my brother. Starting with the basic, level one material, I've been able to see how much sharper and crisper my blocks have become, and how much more fluid my stick work and empty hand movement has become. Incorporating the various redondo, doblete, and other circular patterns has become a lot easier, and as I run through drills with my dad, I can actually see how to combine the patterns for strikes and blocks.

I've also started trying to learn the POSE running method. I purchased a pair of Vibram Five Fingers shoes a few months back. I've run in them a few times, but not as much as I'd planned. I finally set myself a clear, concise, and definable goal for the near future. I am going to run in the Sprinterlochen 15k. For this, I will be following only the Crossfit Endurance workouts, on www.crosfitendurance.com. 3-4 days a week I will train for the race twice a day, in addition to doing POSE running drills regularly. I'm pretty excited about all this.

Last night, I ran into one of the guys I went to school with, and we talked about the possibility of training together, which would be great. Training partners for martial arts, and even workout partners are in short supply it seems. So, if you get a good training partner, hang on to them! Don't hurt 'em!